How Industrial Companies Like Audi Can Benefit From Blockchain

The head of Group Treasury at Audi AG, Alexander Dietlmeier answered the question in an interview with Produktion: How Can Blockchain Be used By Industrial Companies ?

Production: What significance do you attach to blockchain technology?

Alexander Dietlmeier: “The topic of Blockchain is currently on everyone’s lips with its conceptual world of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Hyper Ledger and combination as Smart Contracts. Of course, we have also been dealing with the technology for a long time. On our view, the blockchain is not easy a hype, but similar to the Internet over 25 years ago. [It is} a new core technology that has the potential to change the way an industrial enterprise operates and open up new opportunities. ”

Production: Where do you see possible areas of application for your company?

Dietlmeier: ” That’s exactly what we are currently exploring. ” The biggest hurdle in our eyes right now is the lack of confidence in this technology – which may seem paradoxical, because Blockchain stands for trust, but its use is still hampered by the lack of enterprise’s capability. [The} reliability of technology is limited, starting with performance, cost-effective scalability, and finally closing with Blockchain’s operational readiness, and we are currently validating the use of Blockchain as part of our digitization strategy across all divisions. ”

Production: What roles can Blockchain play in the area of ​​Industry 4.0 or IoT?

Dietlmeier: ” Definitely, one of the many exciting fields of application for blockchain technology: a team of representatives from various business areas such as finance, production / logistics and IT is currently working on the development of the first concrete proof of concept, for example the application for the documentation of international logistics processes. ”

Production: Do you consider the use of cryptocurrencies in financial matters or do you already use Bitcoins, Ethereum etc. to transfer funds?

Dietlmeier: “We always focus on the needs of our customers in terms of payment methods, and at the moment we are observing the market environment and can well imagine offering cryptocurrencies at the appropriate time.”